The Premier League will keep £2million from Portsmouth's player sales in January to cover money owed to other clubs. Chelsea and Watford will both receive cash owed from when financially-stricken Pompey signed Glen Johnson and Tommy Smith respectively.

Once the players' wages have been covered, the £4million remainder from the £8million Portsmouth earned from selling defender Younes Kaboul and keeper Asmir Begovic could be an important lifeline.

The club will use a chunk of the cash to try to persuade HM Revenue and Customs to reschedule the payments on the £7.5million owed in VAT.

However, another creditor has also joined in with HMRC's winding-up petition to the High Court on Wednesday next week.

Grosvenor Basingstoke Properties are claiming they are owed money by Portsmouth though that is being disputed by the club.

The club say they expect to pay the players' wages for January "in the next day or two".